In addition, the revelation that the Serum Institute, a vaccine manufacturer founded in the Global South, and Gavi, supposedly created for equitable access to vaccines around the world, have added to the pressure on COVID-stricken South Africa to point out unfavorable contracts. According to the contract made public, Gavi did not give any guarantees to South Africa about how many doses it would get or when they would be delivered, but South Africa was still obligated to pay for everything it ordered, making it clear that smaller countries in the Global South cannot rely on anyone but themselves to supply timely vaccines and life-saving medicines to their communities. Citizens.
Governments in the Global South deserve to invest as much as they can imagine in these types of projects and make pharmaceutical localization one of their long-term priorities.
Unfortunately, all governments in the Global South seem to have taken into account the many long-term benefits of localized production of medicines and vaccines.
In South Africa, for example, a recent tender for pneumococcal vaccines, which Biovac manufactures locally, was awarded to an Indian supplier who offered to offer a less expensive alternative. hinder the efforts of these countries to achieve pharmaceutical independence.
“India is the main supplier of vaccines to the global network in general and to Africa in particular,” Morena Makhoana, CEO of Biovac, told me. “However, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that concentrated vaccine production can be a threat. We have noticed that India is closing its borders and limiting the export of its COVID-19 vaccines. “
It is vital that governments in the Global South refrain from taking contracts away from local brands and awarding them to larger foreign players in order to save in the short term.
“It’s about Africa becoming [pharmaceutically] self-sufficient,” Makhoana said. “This can only be achieved if corporations [like Biovac] receive support from their governments. “
Pharmaceutical independence, which requires immense monetary and human investment, will come overnight. However, governments can set their countries on a path to freedom simply by supporting the local production efforts of corporations like Biovac.
The views expressed in this article are those of Al Jazeera and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position.